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It's the perfect time of year for gingerbread cookies, but what do you do with all that excess ginger? Well, maybe put it in a horse's butt? No, no, don't do that. But some people do. All that and more on this week's history of ginger. Show notes

Maybe you've heard our new sister podcast about culture, Pop Rocket. It’s hosted by a comic called Guy Branum. His new stand up album Effable was just released, so we thought this’d be a good opportunity to play you some of his set from last year’s Atlantic Ocean Comedy and Music Festival, AKA Boat Party dot Biz. So here’s the great Guy Branum, recorded live on a ship in the Caribbean.

It's time for Canonball. We take a leap into the deep end and talk to experts about classic albums -- or albums that should be considered classics -- and find out what makes them great.

This week, we’re joined by music historian and journalist Peter Guralnick. He's written about rock, soul and blues musicians for decades, profiling Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Sam Cooke, and Elvis among dozens of others.

But for our segment, he chose a record that captures what he loves about live music. It was recorded by the ethnomusicologist Harry Oster in the late 50s and early 60s, and it was released on as Country Negro Jam Sessions. (Please excuse the anachronistic title).

Several of Peter's books, including his acclaimed biography of Elvis, are now reissued with video and audio in e-book format. You can find more at PeterGuralnick.com.

KLAXON! KLAXON! It's MaxFunDrive time! Rep your Judge John Hodgman pride by becoming a monthly sustaining member of Maximum Fun and selecting JJH as one of your favorite shows. Help us meet our goal of 2000 new and upgrading members by March 27th! There's a level for everyone -- check 'em out at www.maximumfun.org/donate. Your ongoing support makes this show possible. Thank you.

Dana brings the case against his friend Brendan. Several years ago, Brendan started a Hulk parody twitter account, and he used Dana's real name in the Twitter handle. Brendan says the account is funny; Dana says it's bordering on impersonation. Who's right? Who's wrong?

BONUS MAXFUNWEEK EPISODE! In this special interview episode, Carrie has a chat with Jon Ronson, bestselling author of The Men Who Stare at Goats, The Psychopath Test, and Frank. And by a chat, we mean they devise horribly accusatory questions and make each other take lie detector tests. It's all fun and games until Jon's butt gets brought up. Plus, hear Ross' reactions as he listens along with you!

Fran Lebowitz's literary career had a somewhat inauspicious beginning -- not long after being expelled from high school, she moved to New York, showed up barefoot at a publishing house to submit her poetry collection, and was incredulous when it was rejected. Her determination, fearlessness, and sharp wit were undeniable, however, and she soon became not only a successful author, but one of New York's most important social critics.

Lebowitz shares stories of teenage rebellion, getting started as a writer, and why she considers herself to be the least envious person on the planet. A collection of her essays, The Fran Lebowitz Reader, is now available in audiobook form.

You may not immediately recognize his name, but chances are good you've heard Karriem Riggins's work. He's a jazz drummer who's played with greats like Diana Krall and Ron Carter, and he's produced hip hop for Erykah Badu and The Roots. Riggins' new solo album, Alone / Together, fuses his drumming with his production chops.

He joins us this week to discuss the song that changed his life: "Give it Up or Turnit a Loose" by James Brown.

"It Was a Good Day" is rapper Ice Cube's biggest hit -- a solid rap song with a great beat, it's easy to see why this record was so successful. What makes this song truly great, however, isn't Ice Cube's vivid description of his good day, but looming, omnipresent possibility of a much worse day.

Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein announced the release date of the new season of Portlandia via this delightful video, Meditation Crush. The show will return to IFC for its third season on January 4th. As a holiday treat, the show will release a special on Dec. 14th called Winter in Portlandia.

Here’s a bright start to the holiday season: on November 28th, Maria Bamford will self-release a new comedy special entitled Maria Bamford: The special special special! True to her unique style, the show was taped in her living room and the only audience members are her parents, Joel and Marilyn. Best of all, you’ll be able to download it from Chill.com for the fan-friendly price of only $4.99!

Chris Hardwick premiered his first one-hour Comedy Central special this weekend. Entitled Mandroid, it is chock-full of the usual nerdy goodness you’ve come to expect from Chris and will be available on CD, DVD and as a digital download on January 22, 2013 (but a real friend would pre-order it , don’t you think?)

Jon was kind enough to answer a few questions for us about the book and the superheroes he encountered during its creation.

Rebecca O’Malley (RO): How did you first become aware of the real-life superhero movement?

Jon Ronson (JR): It was Twitter. There was a flurry of tweets about Phoenix Jones. Someone from Seattle tweeted about how proud they were of their city that it could create something as fabulously insane as Phoenix.

So I watched a short CNN segment about him, and kind of knew that I was destined to go on patrol with him. He just felt like someone waiting to be written about by me. He was a mix of genuinely inspiring, mysterious, awesome, but also kind of absurd. I really liked that combination.

RO: How difficult is it to track down and gain the trust of someone who is trying to keep his identity a secret?

JR: It was tough. I had to go through an emissary, Peter Tangen, whose own origin story is amazing. Peter is a Hollywood studio photographer. He shot the movie poster for Spiderman. When he learnt that there were people doing in real life what Tobey Maguire was only pretending to do on a film set, it unlocked something profound in him. He became compelled to become their official photographer and media advisor. So whenever I wanted to talk to Phoenix, I had to approach Peter Tangen.

RO: You’ve written about psychology before, so I’m sure some of your expertise in that area must have influenced how you viewed the real-life superheroes. What do you think motivates these individuals to create these identities and seek out danger? Boredom? Altruism? Swagger? Or just a need for excitement and attention?

JR: All four of those things!

RO: Do you have a personal opinion as to whether it is appropriate for these individuals to attempt to intervene in situations that are normally kept solely in the realm of the police?

JR: Well, I'm a liberal, so I'm instinctively against the idea of what's basically a form of libertarian vigilanteism. But you can't help falling for Phoenix when you hang out with him. He's so goofily charming and inspiring and charismatic, your sagacity goes out of the window a little. You kind of fall in love with him.

RO: Do you believe that they are actually making the streets safer?

JR: I think they perform acts of derring-do that improve people's lives, yes. But I also think they're so addicted to doing good, they'll sometimes leap into a situation that they oughtn't. One time Phoenix tried to give a taco to a drunk driver to sober him up. The drunk driver refused it. Phoenix insisted. The drunk driver got violent. Phoenix pulled out his taser... So sometimes things will inadvertently escalate.

RO: There were a few times in the story when the would-be superheroes seem very disappointed that their evening patrol did not result in the discovery of any ongoing crime. What did you make of that? Does it expose something about their desire for either excitement or notoriety?

JR: Yes. It's a bit of a worrying character trait. One time they started hassling some wizened old addicts at a bus stop at 3am in Seattle. I was thinking, "Leave them alone. They'll be gone by the time the daytime people arrive."

In the middle of my adventures with Phoenix I had dinner one night in New York with Ira Glass. I was telling him all this stuff, how I thought they should leave the crack addicts alone, but I was probably mainly thinking that because I'm scared of confrontation, and Ira said, "Your position obviates the need for superheroes."

I don’t want to obviate the need for superheroes! But I do think they should be careful out there.

Author and filmmaker Jon Ronson has started a fascinating documentary series called "Escape and Control". It's going to explore who controls the internet and how they do so. That would be interesting enough, really, but the manner in which he is making the documentary is equally intriguing. As you can see from this trailer, he will be releasing bits and pieces of the film as he makes it.

JESSE THORN: It's The Sound of Young America, I'm Jesse Thorn. My guest on the program is the journalist Jon Ronson. He's made a career of tracking down wing-nuts and extremists and people on the fringes of all sorts of societies. His latest book is called The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry.

It starts with a puzzle book, and travels through a long investigation of psychopathy and psychiatry. Jon Ronson, welcome to The Sound of Young America.